The Boat Project

My boyfriend came home one day and asked, "So do you want to move to a smaller place?"

 I unenthusiastically replied, "No!".

He was not done with the conversation and let me know that he had a wonderful idea.  Now, I've heard wonderful ideas and I can assure you that this is not one of them, but I let him continue.  After letting him finish and finding out that he was quite serious about giving up land for water; we started looking for a boat.

He did not want just any boat.  He wanted a CHEAP boat that we could fix up and eventually live in someday.  As he finished school and his internship, I hunted down every cheap boat that could be found.  With much luck, I found a boat that is within 15 minutes, it is inexpensive, but runs.

Now, the photos and why this project will last longer than I ever wanted it to:

I think when the boat was manufactured, people did not know what stylish meant.  The sofa is atrocious!  I did, however, sit on it in a moment of pure desperation and found out it is as uncomfortable as it is ugly.  We will need to find something that is comfortable, can be converted easily into a bed, and matches the style that we have. 

Some of the more observant people (okay anyone that is not blind) can see that there are no windows.  The DIYer is currently at the boat putting in the window.  I offered to help, but I don't think he trusts me with power tools.

This is the kitchen (galley).  I wanted to run away and say, "Never mind, let's not move" when I saw it, but I was brave.  I am trying to talk the DIYer into a new counter top, a new sink, and extending the counter top at the back of the sink so I can have a dinner table.  We will see if he is a good listener!

This is the master bedroom.  Okay, you caught me in a lie, it is the only bedroom!  I think it is called a sleep cabin.  The bed is a 3/4 bed.  Imagine a bed that is 48 inches wide and about, oh, maybe 72 inches long.  I am only 64 inches long so that won't be a problem.  The problem with the bed is that it is actually foam on a rigid platform.  I have not been brave enough to lay down on it yet, but it has got to go.  The DIYer bought a Memory Foam mattress for it already.  We will see how that looks!  At least I will be able to pick out sheets that are not quite as hideous as what is currently there.

This is the head that makes nightmares come true!  The shower is one that I wanted to cry when I saw it.  The toilet flushes and the sink runs!  There is some wood work that needs to be done in the bathroom and some serious sanitizing and mopping that will be done before I will do anything in the bathroom.

Oh goodness!  I think the shower speaks for itself.  I went in, stood in it, and this is when the tears started to run!  I will never be able to shave my legs in a shower again.  I will have to clean the shower before I use it and I don't think the shower will ever come clean.  Maybe I will just wear some sturdy water shoes and ignore that the shower grosses me out! 

I have no intention of ever driving the boat.  This is where anyone else will sit and take me leisurely down the river as I anticipate getting a hole in the boat and drowning. If you ever see a brunette wearing her life jacket while taking a leisurely cruise on the Mississippi, just yell out, "Hey Brenda!"  Most likely, I will say hi back!

The one thing that eased my mind a bit is that there is a hatch at the front of the boat (in the sleeping cabin) so if the boat catches on fire in middle of the night, while the guy bravely puts the fire out, I will get off the boat and run for my life without having to worry about making it to the back door.

This is one of the biggest adventures yet for me.  I am excited about living on the water, but nervous about freezing to death during the winter!  The cleaning will be fun, the renovations will be awesome, and many fun memories will be made on this boat.

But when vacation time comes, I want dry land to put my feet on!

I have been thinking of names for the boat.  "Don't be stupid, Moron!" isn't a favorite of the guy.  I think that "Brenda is awesome" is a little pretentious.  If you have a name for the boat, please leave a comment! 

The boat needs to be on the water on July 1st because the last day at the apartment is June 30th.  Wish us luck and come back for updates!  The boating project will continue until we decide boats suck or we build the mother ship.

First Run this Month

My goal seemed reachable and the efforts in the beginning were commendable when I started at the New Year.  My sister was by my side and with her this running thing seemed possible.

Now I have moved 1300 miles to the East, the weather has been pretty miserable, and my thoughts have not been on running. I miss my running partner terribly!  The motivating factor to run was that today I weighed myself and was not thrilled by what I have managed to do with three weeks of stuffing my face.  It's time to start burning some pounds off.

Since I'm new to this area I got online and browsed for parks with walking trails.  There seemed to be three parks that are really close.  I used my GPS and it successfully brought me to a UPS distribution center.  Although the parking lot was huge, it was not exactly where I wanted to run.  I got back in my car for Take 2.  Let's just say that my GPS is not wanting me to run!

I decided that in this area that we have HUGE sidewalks and lots of traffic around so I decided even though I am not crazy about the idea of people seeing me run, I needed to suck it up and run!  I ran about a quarter of a mile and it felt really good!  I need to learn a pace to go that will allow me to run further, but heck, I finally ran!

It may take me awhile to get back to where I was, but I have faith that I will get there.  To all the runners out there, what keeps you motivated?  Does it ever get easier to run?

Second Chances

Several years ago, on May 27, 2005, I married a man that was deploying to Iraq soon.  We said goodbye on September 25, 2005 and were divorced in June of 2006, before his deployment was over.  We had some gut wrenching decisions that were not easy for any couple, let alone newlyweds. 

The next thing I knew was that he was married and deploying again.  I tried to keep tabs to make sure he was doing all right, but we were no longer in contact.

Much to my surprise he contacted me on December 31, 2012.  I was not as pleasant as I could have been, but, with the history, I was pleasant enough.  He reached out again a few days later and I found out he was divorced, then a few weeks later he reached out again, and ultimately, I wanted to find out what was going on.  I started to listen, started paying attention, and then accepted his invitation to fly out to see him when he was on break from college.

As many of us know, long distance relationships do not work and I wanted to give this a chance.  I resigned from my job and moved 1300 miles to give this a shot.  So far things are going well, but I have a few hesitations due to my anxiety, but so far, I am happy to say no red flags have went off.

Wish me luck!  Are any of you with exes and it has worked out for your second chance?  Any stories are welcome.